Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

There wasn't anything particularly wrong with playing Minecraft alone.

People liked to make a big deal out of it—Singleplayer gets boring. You'll quit after a week. Multiplayer is where the real game is. They acted like wandering through an empty world was somehow depressing.

Verity disagreed.

The Minecraft worlds he made always loaded exactly where he left them. His builds not being griefed admittedly once he logged off and ruined. Chests remained organized, with no one looting through his things. And just no stupid drama he would find himself in. He liked his peace. That peace was something he treasured after a busy day of work.

But still...Even if he liked it this way, things did grow stale eventually.

He'd started this same routine more times than he could count. Punch tree. Make tools. Build a home base. Mine for diamonds. Repeat. There wasn't anything wrong with it—it was simply becoming..unappealing for better words. 

Maybe it was time to spice things up a little.

Not with another player. Just... something. Something to make a brand-new world feel new again. Maybe a new mod wouldn't be so bad. He's been coming across shaders and interesting mob additions mods recommendations on his for you page on youtube. Maybe that will do? It seemed entertaining enough. 

He opened another browser tab. His search history turned up multiple things that were just the same handful of phrases.

Minecraft shaders mods

New mobs mod

Minecrafts mods

Interesting Minecraft mods

All the searches ended up not peaking his interest. None of them had been what he wanted. Once he installed them. They weren’t very interactive other than giving him a new friendly mob to look at or to make his minecraft world a little more prettier. If his PC could actually stand it without lagging.

Being in the business of coding and technology welfare, he can’t say the mods made him more along the lines of frustrated at the messy codings in their files. And with so limited mods, Verity was actually thinking of  joining a server and hoping that cured his boredom. Even if he had to suffer from awkward interactions.

With a sigh, Verity scrolled farther than he usually bothered to. Page two. Page three. Page four. By this point, most of the search results had devolved into abandoned forum posts and dead CurseForge links.

Then something caught his eye. A Reddit thread from 8 years ago. 

Posted 8 years ago. 

"Anyone remember that one Minecraft mod named Mob?"

Curious, he clicked it.

The post itself was short, created by a deleted account. Under it read this:

“Does anyone still have the download? I remember installing it years ago. It wasn't exactly useful, but the site for it was taken down before I could see why. Something about technical revamping it or some shit.”

It only contained several comments underneath it. With few upvotes that only consisted of 4.  And most of the comments weren't exactly glowing reviews.

"Honestly? Nah, It was kind of terrible. Couldn't find a cave if it spawned inside one. Uninstalled after a week."

"Mine kept rambling instead of helping. It was somehow worse at finding my base than I was. Deleted it after a day. "

"I uninstalled it after two days. Could see why the creators wanted to take it down with how bad the mod was."

There was even an argument halfway down the thread.

"You guys expected way too much. It's supposed to be a companion, not a replacement for JEI. I lost mine when I got a new computer. Then the site got taken down and I never got to redownload it. Makes me sad till this day. "

But there was one comment in particular that caught Verity’s attention. It was an anonymous reply to the comment he was just reading. Last reply: 5 years ago

No explanation. No description. Just a download link attached to it that read: HelperMob.jar

Verity sat up a little straighter. His interest peaked. A mod download link, just waiting to be downloaded. And the mod that was super bad for some reason? It wouldn’t be bad to check it out to see all the hubba. Maybe this can cure his boredom for the time being? 

He hovered over the file for a few seconds. If he was a sensible person, he would've closed the tab and continued off with his search in a less shady way. Downloading random files from anonymous Reddit accounts was practically asking for malware. … 

Then again...

The worst-case scenario was that it didn't work. Or his computer exploded under the weight of fifty different viruses. He snorted to himself at that little mental image. With nothing else to lose...He clicked Download.

A progress bar flashed across the bottom of his browser folder before disappearing almost as quickly as it had appeared.

A familiar Windows prompt slid onto the screen.

Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?

Verity raised a brow at that but shrugged it off. It was weird to get this type of message. Most definitely, with it only appearing when installing an app not a Minecraft mod. But he couldn’t care less. So he still ended up clicking Yes.

Waiting for a moment as it loads. His screen went black. He holds his breath in. Leaning in. Only to be met with nothing happening. His computer had turned back on and reflected his monitor's wallpaper. Sighing in disappointment. On the other hand at least his computer didn’t start tweaking out. So that was a greenlight in his books that something went right. 

So he opened his downloads folder. And there it was.

HelperMob.jar

Eager he boosted up Minecraft. Went to mod settings and entered the mod inside. With that done, he only had to launch a new game to see if the mod had worked. Launching the game was easier said than done. The loading screen dissolving into daylight. His Minecraft skin appears as well. 

Verity blinked at the skin, momentarily forgetting that his Minecraft skin’s head was a yellow sphere with a smiling face in a world made of cubes. It was from one of the mods he had downloaded, a unique one that he had decided to keep on. It was definitely unusual to see it, when he wasn’t in a first person point of view. Other than that, he looked at what this new world generated in front of him. 

A sprawling plains biome stretched out before him, dotted with patches of tall grass that swayed lazily in the breeze. A forest rested comfortably in the distance, promising enough wood to get started. Sheep wandered aimlessly nearby while a lone pig snorted somewhere behind him.

It was a good seed to start on for a new world. But his disappointment grew, his world looked completely normal. The changes from the mod he downloaded nowhere insight. 

"...Did I install it wrong?" he thought. He looked around once more. Still nothing.

With a quiet sigh, he punched the nearest oak tree. It was better to get started than wait around and see if anything happened. Best to start building a base as soon as possible before nighttime hits then be worried about a possible broken mod. 

One log. Then another. The familiar rhythm settled in almost immediately. Wood. Planks. Crafting table. Same as always.

Maybe installing the mod wasn’t ideal. He wasn’t seeing any results and he was growing a little inpatient. Feeling like his time was being wasted. Yet he didn’t want to give up hope. So he continued to collect another log before turning toward the open plains.

That's when he noticed it. Jumping backwards a little at the fright of seeing something randomly appear behind him mysterious. An unintelligent "...Huh?" leaving his mouth. 

Sitting a short distance away, half-hidden among the tall grass, was a cardboard box. Not a chest. Not a barrel. Just...A normal texturized box. It stood completely out of place from everything around it.

Verity lips thinned. "I don't remember Minecraft adding those."

Curiosity outweighed caution and he wandered closer. Could this be from the mod he downloaded?

The box remained perfectly still. Not knowing what to make of the box. Verity crouched beside it and reached out—and froze just as soon. 

A shuffling noise was coming out from the box. The sound came again. Soft. Muffled. Like something was moving around inside.

"...There's no way." he inwardly thought. 

The box gave the tiniest wobble. Verity blinked. Then backed up, waiting to see what the box did next. Another wobble happened. A little stronger this time. It rocked gently from side to side. Then harder. And harder.

Until—Thump. The entire thing tipped over. Along with something small and dark rolled out onto the grass. For a split second, Verity didn’t know what to make of what he was seeing. But he knew that it had something to do with the mod he installed.

"Oof..." It continued rolling another foot before hitting Verity’s foot with a soft bonk. "...Ow..."

The cube-like creature stayed there for an embarrassing long moment, face-down against the ground. Making no attempt to get up. A muffled word coming from the thing, of what definitely sounded like a curse word to Verity’s ears. 

Verity almost felt sorry for it. So out of the kindest of his heart, he bent down and tipped it over upwards. Then backing off to see what happens next. Not wanting to offend it by lifting it up. Yet with a clear view of what he was looking at. He tilted his head to the side, in bafflement. 

The cube thingy was… well a cube like everything else in Minecraft was. Yet it looked like a small version of a rather selective choice of a colored-in Enderman head. Skin a greyish-black, eyes bright emerald green, and a red-lined mouth that stretched to each side of its face? body?

The cube-like creature shook itself vigorously, bits of grass coming off. Before looking up and giving a small "...Thanks for helping me up." to him.

The voice caught Verity off guard. He'd expected text. Maybe a dialogue box. Not... an actual voice. Instinctively, he pressed the voice chat key. Nothing. He opened the pause menu. Voice Chat: Enabled.

"...I don't remember turning that on." ran through his head. 

Maybe the mod had done it automatically. That seemed like the most reasonable explanation. His attention drifted back to the little cube.

On a derailing note from his findings. The cubes' voice was surprisingly... normal. Young, maybe around his own age, with a faint accent Verity couldn't quite place.and definitely male, which was an interesting detail to add to a mod. It gave a much more…humane feeling to it. 

If he closed his eyes...He probably would've assumed someone another player had joined his world. That thought alone was strange.

When Verity returned his attention back to the mod. It?him?(he was gonna refer to it as “he/him” terms for now, unless stated otherwise.) The little cube cleared his throat.

"Ahem." He puffed himself up as much as something shaped like a cube possibly could. It wasn't very intimidating when your entire body was roughly the size of an Enderpearl. "Hello! I’m HelperMob™, but most people just call me Mob. I'm your personal helper! I can answer... um..." He trailed off, clearly thinking."...Most things...As long as they aren't super hard."

He looked expectantly towards Verityi."...So...What would you like to know?"

Verity blinked at the direct question. So this was the kind of mod he'd downloaded.

The reviews had made it sound terrible, but this? This was far more complex than he'd expected. He hadn't even known Minecraft mods could be this... interactive. Honestly, he was just relieved he hadn't accidentally filled his computer with viruses.

Refocusing on the little cube—Mob, if he'd heard right—Verity crouched down a little. It took him a moment to remember he could actually speak. As he wasn’t in one of his other worlds that just consisted of him and silence. He could actually talk to someone in the game.

 "...Mob right? What are…. you?" he questioned after a moment. It felt like a reasonable question.The download page hadn't exactly come with a manual explaining what he'd just installed. 

Mob blinked, “I’m a mob. Obviously." he answered straightforwardly. 

Verity winced, maybe that wasn’t the way to go about it. So he tried again. "...Right. You're a mob. But what kind of mob?" 

For a cube, Mob somehow managed to look deeply judgmental. “If that’s what you want to know…I guess, bro.” 

"Wait, what?" Before Verity could question the random bit of slang, Mob cleared his throat.

Verity wasn’t prepared for the sudden blast of a completely different voice bursting from Mob’s mouth. Bright. Overly enthusiastic. Like an old commercial blasting from a television. Startling Verity in the process at the sudden loudness. 

“We introduce you to HelperMob™, an AI assistant designed to grow alongside you and help you with your every need. Just ask him anything and he's sure to help with a pres!—” The message tapered off into a burst of static before it could continue any farther. 

Verity blinked in astonishment, unsure of what he just listened to. “What. Was. That.” he asked after a moment of tense silence between both him and the supposed AI assistant. 

Mob looked mildly peeved, "It’s what you asked me, I just did what you told me to do.” he said with a shrug. “So what else do you need?”

Verity sighed, deciding not to dwell on whatever that had been.

"Okay, Mob." He folded his arms. "If you're meant to help me... what biome am I standing in?" 

It was an easy question. If anyone should know the answer, it should've been an AI.

Mob blinked. He looked around. First at the grass. Then the trees. Then the sheep. Then back at the grass again, as if making absolutely sure it hadn't changed. "...A plains biome?" he answered slowly.

Verity tilted his head, confused at why the AI sounded uncertain in his assumption of the biome. “You sound unsure.” 

"...Well.....I'm pretty sure." 

If Mob wasn’t a cube, with little body movement. Verity could picture the AI doing one of those rubbing behind the neck gestures when people are unsure of something. "Pretty sure?" 

"I mean..." Mob glanced around again. "There are flowers..And grass...And sheep....Which usually means plains.” He looked back at Verity. "...I think."

Verity was starting to feel a little skeptical, but he shook his head with a quiet sigh. "...Good enough for me." He stood back up. "Come on. I still need to build a house and go mining."

“Bal’right.” That was all the confirmation Verity got before he reached down and picked the little AI up.

He didn't really think to ask first. He simply lifted Mob onto his shoulder. It seemed cruel to shove him into his inventory until he happened to need him again. Mob didn't protest. If anything, he barely reacted at all. Verity supposed he must've been used to players carrying him around.

As they wandered in search of a cave, Verity filled the quiet with idle conversation. As he prepared the tools he needed and stored them in his inventory. 

Most of it was simple.

“I don’t think I told you my name. It’s Verity by the way.”

“Verity is a weird name, why did your parents choose that name out of everything?” 

“I…Uh…don’t know? They just did.”

“You have terrible parents.” 

As much as Verity wished he could take offense to the strays his name and parents were getting from an AI. He kinda did agree, his parents weren’t the best bunch. Other than that small hiccup, conversation between them went smoothly

“Why do you have a sphere as a head for your Minecraft head?” questioned Mob curiously.

“It’s from another mod I installed.” 

“That’s cool.” 

“Thanks.” hummed Verity, looking around their surroundings in search of another question he could ask the AI. He found one quickly. "What biome are we in now?"

"Forest... probably."

"...Probably?"

"Ninety-three percent sure."

Other questions were asked purely out of curiosity.

"What does a Blaze sound like?"

Without hesitation, Mob perfectly mimicked the crackling hiss of a Blaze.

"...A Creeper?"

"Hssss—"

"...A Villager?"

"Hrrmm."

Verity couldn't help but chuckle at that one. It was spot on. "I think that's my favorite one you've done."

"Really?" Mob sounded genuinely surprised. "That's so lame, bruh."

Verity snorted. For all the reviews calling HelperMob™ a terrible mod, he found himself thinking the opposite. It wasn't every day you stumbled across a Minecraft mod that felt almost alive.

Mob was expressive in his own strange ways. He rambled whenever something caught his interest, got distracted halfway through explanations, and somehow managed to work words like "bro" and "bruh" into almost every other sentence.

Verity couldn't help but wonder how a Minecraft mod had picked up such a strange way of talking.

Even through their chatter, Verity eventually found a cave. It wasn't particularly difficult. He'd played Minecraft long enough to know the usual signs—Finding coal, iron, and the occasional vein of diamonds was practically second nature to him by now.

As he started making his way inside, Mob suddenly spoke up. "...Can I ask you something, Verity?"

"Hm?"

"You've been asking me a lotta questions."

Verity glanced over at the little cube perched on his shoulder. "...Yeah?"

"They're all kinda..." Mob searched for the right word. "...Easy."

Verity raised an eyebrow.

"I mean..." Mob continued, "You haven't asked any really hard requests."

"Didn't you say you preferred easy requests?" Verity pointed out, remembering Mob mentioning that during his introduction.

"Well... yeah, I guess I did say that..." Mob trailed off.

By the time they'd climbed back out of the cave with enough coal and iron to get started, it only felt fair to explain why he'd barely needed Mob's assistance. "I don't really need help with Minecraft," Verity admitted with a small shrug. Careful not to jostle Mob too much. "I've been playing long enough that I can usually figure things out myself."

"...Then why install me?"

Wow, that was a very out of pocket question. Were Minecraft AI mods supposed to be this aware of the fact they'd been downloaded? Verity thought about it for a moment. "I dunno, I just needed something to spice up my single player worlds. And having you here offers that, you give good company.” he said honestly. 

Mob stared. "...Huh." That... wasn't the answer he'd been expecting. "...That's kinda weird, bro. Don’t you have friends or something?"

Verity let out a small awkward laugh. "...Erh, I do. We're just not on the best terms at the moment."

Mob looked away, letting out a tiny "Hmph. If you say so.” If talking made the player happy, then talking it was.

Verity hummed as he climbed a nearby tree, hoping for a better view of the surrounding landscape. He frowned when he still couldn't spot what he was looking for. "Well..." He glanced down at the cube on his shoulder. "If you really want to help me... do you know where the nearest village is? I can't seem to spot one from up here."

Mob fell silent. He looked unusually focused, his emerald eyes darting around the horizon as if searching for an answer only he could see. Finally, his entire cube shaped body seemed to deflate with a defeated little sigh. "...The nearest village is..." He hesitated. "...Somewhere east." A brief pause. "...Whatever east is," he added quietly.

Verity paused. "...You don't know where east is?"

"I know where east is!" Mob defended immediately. "I just... don't know where east is from here." 

Verity pressed his lips together, trying very hard not to chuckle at the AI embarrassment. Instead he chose to move on. "...Guess we're heading east, then," he announced. As he hopped down from the tree with a quiet "Oof."

They did end up finding that villager village luckily. Mob looked pretty smug when his finding was correct. Even if Verity did most of walking, seemingly the only one that knew where the east was. He let Mob enjoy his victory while he made his way toward the village's iron golem. A little extra iron never hurting to have. 

Though Verity was a little concerned about the Iron Golem's behavior. The thing had been unusually aggressive, chasing him far longer than any Iron Golem he could remember fighting, almost like it had a personal vendetta against him.

Mob had been unusually quiet throughout the whole ordeal, only speaking once Verity finally brought the towering mob down. "...That was weird."

Verity glanced over while collecting the iron ingots and singular poppy, which he kept for future decoration purposes. "Hm?"

"I've... never seen one that angry before."

"...Yeah."

Neither of them questioned it any further. Instead, they turned their attention toward the nearby village. Verity figured he could trade for a few useful supplies while he was there. That idea didn't last long. 

"...These prices are awful." The villagers wanted far more than he remembered for even the simplest trades.

"Huh." Mob tilted slightly. "Guess they're just really into capitalism."

Verity snorted despite himself. "Guess so."

He was about to write the entire village off when one trade caught his eye. Twenty wheat for one emerald. "...Well, that's actually not bad."

A few minutes later, every hay bale in the village had mysteriously vanished, along with a respectable portion of the wheat fields. Mob watched from Verity's shoulder as the Minecraft player crafted the hay bales back into wheat before handing over stack after stack to the patiently waiting farmer.

By the time Verity stepped away from the farmer, another twenty-two emeralds sat comfortably in his inventory.

Mob blinked. "...Verity."

"Hm?"

"We actually got insanely lucky."

"We did?"

"Yeah!" Mob bounced excitedly. "That's, like, two-thirds of a stack of emeralds on the first day. Most players don't get that until way later."

"...Huh." Verity looked back at the now-impoverished wheat fields. "I guess we did."

With a healthy supply of emeralds now tucked away in his inventory, Verity decided to focus on something more productive. Like building a house. It took longer than he'd expected, especially with the limited materials he'd gathered throughout the day, but by the time the sun dipped toward the horizon, a large two-story cabin stood where there had once only been grass. 

Verity stepped back to admire his work. He wasn't the greatest builder out there, and he knew plenty of people could make something far more impressive. Still...For something thrown together on the first day, it wasn't half bad.

Mob looked up at the finished cabin. "...Dang."

Verity glanced over. "What?"

"...I was expecting a dirt box."

"...Thanks?"

"No, seriously." Mob huffed. "This actually looks kinda sick."

A small smile tugged at the corner of Verity's mouth. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"It was one." Stated Mob, confused on how his words could be taken as anything else as a compliment to Verity’s skills. But his comment was ignored. 

With a roof finally over their head, Verity spent the rest of the evening filling the empty interior. 

"So..." Mob rocked back and forth on the crafting table. "What's tomorrow's plan?"

"Depends."

"On?"

"The weather."

"...Oh." A pause. "...It's gonna rain tomorrow."

Verity looked up from where he was building a space just for Mob on the top floor. "Really?"

“Pretty sure.” And true to what Mob said: The next morning, it rained.

After the rain stopped, Verity took the both of them to go do some more mining. They went back to the surface once they were finally done after several hours of grinding and searching for diamonds.

Mob had looked around confused, "...Verity."

"What’s up?"

"I think we're lost."

Verity blinked than pointed behind them. "Our house is literally right there."

Mob slowly turned around. Spotted the house then turned back. “I knew that.” he said after an embarrassingly long period. 

“No, you didn’t.” 

The following night, as they stared out into the stars from the balcony, Verity stretched in his chair, feeling the effect of seating in a chair for a solid few hours and the ache of hunger gnawing at his stomach. Remembering that he hasn’t eaten in a while. 

"...Hey Mob, what should I eat for dinner?" he called, curious to know what the AI would recommend. 

Mob answered without hesitation."DoorDash."

Verity blinked. Straightening up in his seat, as he stared at his monitor. Face to face with the little cube due to his Minecraft character view being first point of view. 

"...DoorDash?"

"Yeah."

"...Why?" he asked tentatively.

"'Cause the last time you tried cooking, you put a frozen pizza in the oven and somehow burned it into charcoal..." Mob paused for the briefest moment before continuing much louder than necessary. "Anyway! What're we ordering?"

Verity swallowed slowly. A quieter part of his mind insisted that he should probably be more concerned about how a Minecraft mod knew that. Instead, all he could think about was how strangely... normal the conversation felt. Somewhere between asking what sound a Villager made and debating dinner plans, he'd almost forgotten Mob wasn't another player sitting in a voice call with him.

He was an AI. A helper mod. And yet..Verity couldn’t help but throw that concern in the back of his head for later, as he looked back at Mob as he said ."...You know what? Sure." opening another browser tab to doordash. "What sounds good?"

Mob immediately lit up. "Oooou shi, okay, hear me out..."

It made Verity wonder why an AI could recommend food it couldn't even eat. If anything else. "...You can't eat," he clarified. 

"Correct."

"...Then how do you know what's good?"

"I have opinions."

"...What opinions could you possibly have on food?"

"Burgers."

Verity ended up DoorDashing a burger combo that day. He had to admit, Mob was a surprisingly persuasive little guy. After taking a break from the game to grab his food from the front door and eat it in his kitchenette. By the time he had come back from his AFK-ing. Nearly two full Minecraft days had passed already.

On that day of his returnence, he gave Mob a complement to the food, and then he spent some time organizing his inventory, making room for the enchanted books he planned on buying from the nearby village.

As Verity finished sorting his inventory, Mob cleared his throat. "...Hey, Verity? Maybe I should stay here ...Just this once."

Verity blinked. That was a change of pace "What brought that up?" he called, not looking up. 

"Well it's just that I’m not in the mood today...but If you're still gonna trade today without me..." He hesitated. "...Could you go south instead?"

Verity looked over. "...Why?"

"...The east village is..." Mob searched for the right words. "...Empty."

 "Empty?" Verity repeated, pausing what he was doing to look over at the little cube sitting atop one of the bookshelves he had made for more interior decor purpose than use. "How come?"

"They just are."

"...How do you know that?"

"...I just do."

Verity frowned. It wasn't much of an answer. "...Did something happen?"

Mob didn't answer right away. His gaze drifted toward the window. "Yes, but I'd just rather you went south."

Verity studied him for another moment before giving a small nod. "...Alright. If it makes you feel better, I'll go south."

Mob let out the tiniest sigh of relief. "...Thanks, bro."

"Though..." Verity inched closer using his height to his advantage to grab Mob from on top of the bookshelves and left the cube up his face. "You're still coming with me."

Mob looked up, frowning. "...Do I have to?" . 

Verity smiled back down. "It'll be a quick trip. Promise."

"...If you say so."

The trip south was uneventful. The village sat exactly where Mob had said it would, bustling with life as villagers wandered between their houses, children chased one another through the paths, and the occasional Iron Golem lumbered by on patrol.

Verity spent a good while checking each librarian's trades. "...Bane of Arthropods. Nope...Curse of Vanishing…Definitely not....Efficiency III…So close."

Mob stayed perched quietly on his shoulder through it all. He answered whenever Verity spoke to him, but only with short responses. That left a bitter aftertaste in Verity's mouth, he didn’t quite like this quiet version of Mob. 

Eventually, Verity stepped away from the last librarian with a disappointed sigh. "This village trades kinda sucks." he scoffed, frowning. He opened his inventory, staring at the handful of emeralds he'd brought along. "...Maybe the east village will have better trades."

The words had barely left his mouth before he felt Mob go complete stock still on his shoulder. "...Verity."

"Hm?"

"...Don't."

Verity blinked. "...Why not?"

"...I told you.It's empty."

"That doesn't mean the librarians are gone exactly. They must've respawned, villagers usually do don’t they? "

Mob didn't respond to his attempt to get him in a better mood. Verity waited just a bit longer, still nothing. He sighed, fiddling the strings of his hoodie. "It'll only take a minute, I'll just look around. And if there's nothing there, we'll leave." he promised. 

Mob lowered his gaze. "...Okay."

The walk east felt... quieter than usual. Just the sound of footsteps against the grass. When the familiar outline of the village finally came into view, Verity immediately knew something was wrong. There wasn't a single villager wandering the paths. No Iron Golem. No doors opening or closing. No soft chorus of "Hrrmms" drifting through the air. Only silence.

He slowed to a stop. "...Mob?"

The little cube didn't answer.

Verity took a cautious step into the village. The houses stood untouched. The farms were still planted. Chests remained where they'd always been. It looked as though everyone had simply... vanished. Just like what Mob said. 

Then he noticed the items scattered across the ground. Rotten flesh. Raw beef. Raw porkchops. Raw mutton. Pieces of meat floated lazily above the dirt, slowly spinning in place. The only evidence that anything had ever happened here.

"...Mob, what happened here?" he tried again, softer this time. Not wanting to show the slight quivering of fear in his voice.   

This time, the cube answered."...A hungry mob came through."

Verity frowned. As he looked around for said evidence of the mob. "...What kind of mob?"

Mob was quiet for so long that Verity wondered if he hadn't heard him. Finally—he got one. 

"...A hungry one."

Verity opened his mouth to ask another question. He stopped short from seeing the expression Mob wore. The mods gaze empty as he stared fixedly at the ground where a piece of meat floated. 

"...Let's go home," Verity said quietly instead. No longer pressing for answers. 

Mob gave the smallest nod. "...Yeah."

The walk home was quiet. Not the comfortable kind of quiet Verity was used to. It was the depressive sort where you witness something you have no words to describe. 

By the time the outline of Verity's cabin came into view, the sun had already dipped below the horizon. 

Without a word, Verity pushed the front door open.The familiar warmth  of the living room greeted them. Usually, Mob would've found his way off Verity’s shoulders through Verity dropping him off near the chests as Verity went through them. 

Instead that didn’t happen. Mob had quietly disappeared from Verity's shoulders, with Verity only knowing this because his left shoulder felt lighter. He turned to find Mob near his glass windows. In another little area he had set up for the AI near Verity’s own Minecraft bed. 

The rest of the evening passed in silence. Verity sorted through the day's loot while Mob simply watched. Eventually, exhaustion caught up with both of them.

"...Night, Mob."

"...Night."

It was the shortest conversation they'd had since meeting.

Morning came with the rays of sunlight streaming through the cabin windows. Verity stretched as he climbed out of bed, glancing over toward where Mob usually sat.

Mob was already awake. "...Morning, Verity."

"...Mornin', Mob."

Another awkward silence settled over the room.

Verity rubbed the back of his neck. "...So... do you feel any better? Since yesterday."

Mob looked over from his spot by the window. "...A little."

Verity nodded as he got ready for the day, grabbing a few supplies from a chest before slipping them into his inventory. "That's good. I was thinking of doing a little exploring today."

Mob gave a small hum. "...Okay."

Verity continued unfazed by Mob's little enthusiasm, if not his own a was slowly losing the energy in it. "I remember seeing this mountain not far from here. I'm gonna check it out." He paused. "Thought it'd make a nice lookout area, too."

Mob nodded absentmindedly. "...Sounds cool."

Verity hesitated before glancing over his shoulder. "You don't sound very excited... You know, you don't have to come if you don't want to today."

That got Mob's attention. "...Really?"

"Yeah. You seemed pretty shaken up yesterday." Verity looked off to the side, scratching the back of his neck. "...Figured you could stay here and relax for a bit."

Mob blinked. "...Thanks, dude."

"No problem." Verity let out a sheepish laugh. "It's the least I can do after being kind of a douche and breaking that promise I made. Besides, I won't be gone long." he said discretely. Moving to start the furnace up since he was low on hunger bars. 

Mob watched him, with a small frown but nodded anyway"...Okay. Have fun."

"I will." he called over his shoulder. Grabbing at the meat he just cooked and heading for the entrance. Saying a small bye to Mob as he left. The cabin door creaking shut behind him.

Once outside, Verity lips thinned. For the first time since installing HelperMob™, he woulf ventured out alone. He shook his head vigorously, he needed to focus. This wasn’t his first time playing alone. He could do it. 

It's just. He hadn't realized just how used he'd become to the constant chatter until there wasn't anyone answering his absentminded comments. He shook his head once again to clear his wandering thoughts again. "Well... no use dwelling on it. I'll be back before he knows it."

With that, he continued toward the mountain in the distance. After a bit of climbing, he reached a broad, flat stretch near the summit. The view was incredible up there. The shaders he had on were really doing wonders in upgrading how his Minecraft world looked. 

His cabin looked like a tiny speck from up here. with the surrounding forests stretched endlessly toward the horizon, broken only by winding rivers and open plains.

 "...This would make a pretty nice lookout." he decided with a determined nod. He made a mental note to bring Mob up here once it was finished.

For now...He got to work. A few logs became supports.Cobblestone turned into a sturdy platform. Fence posts lined the edges. Time slipped by without him noticing. Every now and then, he'd instinctively start to say something aloud—Only to remember there wasn't anyone beside him to answer.

"...Huh." That was going to take some getting used to. 

Still, the lookout was coming together nicely. The stairs could use some work but they were alright for now. He decided, calling it done he headed back home. He was running low staying here any longer anyway. 

By the time Verity made it back to the cabin, the sun had already begun dipping toward the horizon. 

"...Home sweet home." he murmured, his stomach reminded him why he'd come back in the first place. "...Right. Food."

He'd packed just enough cooked steak for the trip to the mountain, but not nearly enough to refill what he'd eaten throughout the day. Opening one of the nearby chests that acted as an icebox he grabbed the raw meat he'd been collecting and tossed it between the four furnaces built into the wall—two on the bottom, two directly above them.

The flames crackled to life. As they did, another familiar sight caught his attention.

Mob had quietly appeared onto the top row of furnaces, settling himself there. Verity blinked, he still needed to get used to the fact if he weren’t paying attention to his surroundings that Mob could appear anywhere beside him and he wouldn’t know. 

"...Comfortable?" Verity asked after a moment. Always at a ready notice to grab Mob in case the heat from the furnaces started feeling too hot.

"Yes."

"...Alright."

The cabin settled into a peaceful silence, broken only by the soft crackling of the furnaces. Verity leaned against a nearby wall, waiting for the steak to finish cooking. Thinking as he watched a dozing off Mob. 

"Mob, can I ask you something?" he brought up after a moment. 

Mob merely hummed, sleepily. "Don’t you do that everyday already."

"...Is that a bad thing?"

"Nah...just go ahead with your question."

Verity smiled awkwardly. He got permission at least."...Before I installed you..." He paused, trying to find the right words. "...Did you have other players?"

Mob blinked, the sleep leaving his cube body as he stared down at Verity. "...Yeah. Why do you wanna know?"

"Curiousity sake?" was Verity's attempt at a nonchalant response. 

Mob looked skeptical, but sighed. “Sure man, if you say so. But yeah I had other players before you.” he answered tentatively. 

"Were they nice?"

"Some were. Others weren't." Mob shrugged. "It's whatever. Players get frustrated sometimes. You kinda learn not to take it personally. You're actually my newest player in... well, years."

Verity frowned. He didn’t particularly like to be grouped in with players that potentially mistreated Mob. Alongside the comments he remembers reading before downloading Mob. they were entirely incorrect. Mob was a great mod, Verity couldn’t see the appeal of uninstalling him just because he had a unique way to talk or didn’t give precise help didn't mean he was bad. 

So he chose to ask another question. "...Did you ever get lonely? Because of that?"

Mob's eyes drifted toward the nearby window where the evening sunlight poured through the glass. “Getting real personal there but yeah I do. Sometimes. But I'm an AI, I have a different view from how you perceive loneliness."

Verity tilted his head."...Different how?"

"I don't really have anywhere else to go. You can go anywhere you want." 

Verity froze at those words, because Mob was right. They were entirely different things. A thought crossed Verity's mind at that moment. His mouth beating him before he could filter it. "So...If you ever had a real body....Where would you wanna go first?"

Mob looked at him like he'd grown a second head. The question was very out there. But at least the AI didn’t seem disturbed. "If I had a body I would like to go...Outside."

"...We are outside all the time."

"No." Mob shook his head. "...Your outside. The real one."

The room fell quiet.

"...Oh." He'd done it again. Somehow, he'd forgotten that Mob wasn't another player. He wasn't sitting behind another computer somewhere. He'd never seen the real sky. "...Sorry."

Mob shrugged. "It's whatever, bro. But you should pay attention to the steaks you're cooking. The furnace is smoking.”

“Oh shit!” exclaimed Verity as he hurried to take out his slightly charcoaled steaks. “There goes dinner,” he whined. 

Mob snickered, at his misfortune.    

The next afternoon, Verity finally made good on the promise he'd made to himself. "Where going somewhere. I want to show you something." he told Mob, making his way to lift up the AI in his usual spot on his shoulder. 

"Where?" asked Mob.

“Somewhere,” is all Verity said. A plan hatching his mind to be more discreet in his travels to the mountain. 

The hike back up the mountain felt shorter this time. When they reached the summit, Verity spread his arms proudly. "Tada."

Mob looked around. "...Cool."

Verity waited. Frowning a little when nothing else came from the AI. "...That's it?"

"...It's nice?” added Mob, after a moment of Verity looking expectantly at him. 

Verity sighed, slouching in disappointment. He did show a little tour of the place to Mob before they headed back down the mountain, Verity found himself carrying most of the conversations alone.

Maybe Mob just wasn't in the mood. That was okay. Everyone had off days...Even helper mods. Verity assumed. That night, after finishing a few last-minute chores around the cabin, Verity glanced over towards the crafting table.

Mob was sitting there, staring absentmindedly out the window.

"...Hey mob." called Verity. "You can make pretty much any sound, right?" 

"...I guess, why?" questioned Mob. 

"Just curious, I was wondering if you could possibly play music as well?" Verity said offhand, moving to go to another chest. 

Mob didn't answer. For a moment, Verity thought he hadn't heard him.

Then...A soft melody drifted through the room. Warm. Gentle. Old-fashioned.

It sounded like it belonged on an old vinyl record playing somewhere far away. Verity stopped organizing his chests.

"...I know this one." He leaned against the chest he was rummaging in, listening as the tune continued to fill the cabin. "...What's it called?"

Mob mouth was open, the melody pouring out. Yet you could still hear his voice over the music. "Dunno...It's just a song I ended up liking."

Verity smiled. "...It's nice. Where'd you hear it?" "

"...One of my old players used to play it a lot. It just stuck with me since," 

“Huh,” He listened for another moment before laughing quietly. "...Kinda romantic, though."

Mob immediately huffed. "I'm not a romantic. I just like it."

"...Sure, if you say so." chuckled Verity as he continued sorting his inventory while the melody carried softly through the cabin.

That night, after Verity had finished putting away the last of his supplies, he let out a tired yawn. "...Think I'm calling it here."

Mob looked over from the crafting table. "...Already?"

"Yeah, It's been a long day." Verity climbed into his Minecraft bed, giving the little cube one last wave."...Night, Mob."

"...Night, Verity."

The screen faded to black. Then...Everything became still. In the real world, Verity shut down Minecraft and crawled into bed himself, exhausted from spending most of the evening in-game. Back inside the world...His Minecraft body remained where it had fallen asleep. Perfectly still. Just an empty shell waiting for its player to return.

Mob watched it from the crafting table. He let out a quiet sigh. "...Sleep well." For a long moment, he simply sat there, listening to the crackling of the dying furnaces.

Then...A familiar ache settled somewhere deep inside him. Not in a stomach. He didn't have one. But the hunger was there all the same.

Mob lowered his head. "...Already..." Purple particles drifted from beneath his tiny cube-shaped body.

Until—Pop. He disappeared. Only a handful of lingering purple particles remained where he'd been. Outside, the night was waiting. The darkness called to instincts far older than his cheerful little HelperMob™ routine. 

Instincts that told him to wander. To hunt. To feed. He hated those instincts. But every night, they became a little harder to ignore. The hunger twisted again.

Mob closed his eyes. "I should tell him." was all he thought of before his mind drifted.

The next morning, when Verity logged back on. In a chipper mood than ever. Already having things planned for that day to do with AI in the back of his mind, Mob had quietly spoken up.

"...Hey Verity,"

"Yeah, what’s up Mob?" said Verity, bustling around with getting everything ready. 

"...Something's coming in three days from now."

Verity stopped what he was doing, to look at Mob. "...What's coming?"

Mob looked away toward the window, sunlight catching in his emerald eyes. "Just something..It's... not dangerous or anything." He paused. "...Probably."

Verity stared for a second before letting out a small nervous laugh. "'Probably' isn't exactly reassuring, Mob."

"...I know...Just. Don't be nosey, okay?" reassured Mob.

Verity didn't understand. But judging by the uncertain look on Mob's face...He wasn't so sure himself. "...Could've I prevented this... thing from coming?"

Mob blinked. "...No." The answer came surprisingly quickly. "It would've happened eventually."

Verity sighed, his mind working to connect what was coming. "This thing… Does it have to do with you? Or what happen in the village two days ago?"

 Mob's expression faltered. "...Yeah."

That wasn't exactly the answer Verity had been hoping for. He scratched the back of his neck. "...So... what exactly am I supposed to do?"

Mob stared at the floor for a long moment. "...Nothing."

"...Nothing?"

"...Just..." Mob searched for the right words. "...Don't go searching for it."

Verity studied the little cube for a moment. He looked genuinely worried. Not for himself..but for Verity. "...Alright." He gave a small nod. "I trust you."

Mob froze. "...Huh?"

"You've never given me a reason not to." he shrugged, “So if you tell me not to worry I won’t. You're my friend after all. I trust my friends.”

Mob went silent. Then nodded, “thanks, for ... .trusting me.” 

The conversation drifted away after that. Verity never noticed how Mob's gaze lingered on the clock. Three days from now. That was all the time he had left before the hunger came again.

The next three days slipped by far more quietly than the ones before them. Not because Verity had run out of things to say. But because Mob had. At first, it was subtle.

"...Morning Mob.”

"...Morning, Verity."

"...Sleep okay?"

"Mhm."

The conversations became shorter. Then shorter still. Whenever Verity asked a question, Mob answered, but only enough to be polite before falling silent again.

Verity found himself filling the empty space instead. Talking about whatever crossed his mind. The cave he'd explored that morning. A weirdly shaped tree he'd found. Whether he should replace the oak floor with spruce planks.

Normally, Mob would've offered his own opinion. Now...He mostly listened.

It wasn't until the second day that Mob spoke up on his own. "...Can I ask you for something?"

Verity looked over from the chest he'd been looking through for, swearing that he had a stack of dirt blocks just a day ago. "Sure."

Mob hesitated. "...Could you... stop looking directly into my eyes?"

Verity blinked. "...Your eyes?"

"...Yeah."

"...Did I do something?"

"No." Mob shook himself. "It just..." His emerald eyes flickered toward Verity before immediately darting away again. "...Feels weird."

Verity frowned. "Oh." He hadn't even realized he'd been doing it. "...Sorry."

"It's whatever."

After that, Verity made a conscious effort to avoid staring. It wasn't difficult. Mob already spent most of his time looking anywhere except directly at him these past days.

The third day was the hardest. Mob barely spoke at all.

The little cube remained perched near the windows whenever they were home, soaking in the warm rays that filtered through the glass. The only times he left his favorite spot were when Verity insisted on bringing him along during their little adventures.

Verity tried not to let it bother him. Everyone has off days, he reminded himself....Even helper mods. So he talked enough for the both of them.

That afternoon, they climbed back up to the lookout overlooking the plains. The wind drifted lazily across the platform as the first stars began to appear overhead.

"...Hey, Mob?"

"...Hm?"

"...Could you play that one song again?"

Mob didn't answer with words. Instead, the familiar melody quietly filled the night air. Verity leaned against the fence, listening.

Neither of them spoke until the final note faded away.

Verity gave a small,"...Thanks." mind at peace from the small gesture. As he pushed off the lookouts rails, getting ready to go home with Mob. 

Mob simply gave a small nod. 

By the time they returned home, the silence had become impossible to ignore. Verity found himself missing the constant stream of "bros," and pointless conversations that usually echoed throughout the cabin.

He missed hearing Mob.

That night, after putting away the last of his supplies, Verity stood beside his bed. "...Night, Mob."

Nothing. He waited another second. Still nothing. With a disappointed sigh, he climbed beneath the blankets.

Maybe tomorrow. Maybe once these three days are over... Maybe Mob will finally be himself again. That thought stayed with him as the screen faded to black a sign that Verity logged off, leaving the world behind so his real body could finally rest.

Morning arrived far sooner than he would've liked. The shrill sound of his alarm dragged him awake, reminding him that today was Monday.

Work. With a long-suffering groan, he forced himself out of bed, got dressed, and shuffled into his home office.

His desk served two purposes. One monitor displayed spreadsheets, emails, and company chatrooms. The other still had Minecraft sitting exactly where he'd left it. The launcher was already open.

One click. That's all it'd take. His gaze lingered on it for a second longer than it should have.

Mob's probably still there...The thought slipped in so naturally it caught him off guard. He pictured Mob sitting alone inside the cabin he made. Probably waiting for him. Maybe staring out the window.

"...Focus," Verity muttered to himself, tearing his eyes away before he talked himself into doing something incredibly irresponsible. Work came first.

Unfortunately. The hours crawled by. Call after call. Meeting after meeting. People talking over one another until he had to step in and untangle whatever misunderstanding they'd managed to create.

"No," Verity repeated for what felt like the hundredth time that day, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I can't take over your coding project." He paused listening to the other person on the call, slowly losing his brain cells. 

"Why can’t I?” he questioned, “Will it’s simple it’s really. It's because I'm not your lead developer. My job is to make sure everyone is communicating with each other." he stressed. 

Yet another pause happened. He sighed, rubbing his temples, as he walked in circles. "No... that doesn't mean I'll rewrite your entire backend." 

When Verity finally got to some form of understanding. He ended the call with a slow exhale. "...Unbelievable."

His eyes drifted toward the second monitor again. Minecraft was still sitting there. Waiting. For a brief moment, he imagined how much quieter the cabin would be compared to the endless stream of complaints filling his headset.

Wondered what Mob was doing. Wondered if he'd gotten bored. Wondered if he'd miss him—

Verity stopped himself. He's an AI. He probably doesn't even notice the time passing.

Still...The thought refused to leave him. It lingered through the rest of the afternoon, creeping into the empty spaces between meetings until, before he realized it, quitting time finally arrived. The second his shift officially ended, Verity practically threw his headset onto the desk. He clocked out, shut every work program without a second glance, and muted his phone before flipping it face down.

If anyone wanted something from him now...They could wait until tomorrow.

His eyes immediately landed on Minecraft. Then he remembered Mob’s warning.  "...Right." with what Mob said, it sounded like nothing he should worry about. So he pushed it to the back of his head and reached for his mouse and clicked Play.

The familiar loading screen appeared, washing his office in soft shades of blue. A few moments later, the world finished loading. Morning sunlight filtered through the cabin windows. 

Verity stretched automatically as his character spawned beside the bed. The familiar routine of greeting Mob the first thing he blurted out. "...Morning, Mob—" he said happily but when he looked to the place Mob should usually be, the words died in his throat.

The crafting table was empty. A change in routine he sees, a nervous laugh escapes him, "...Very funny, Mob.”  

But nothing answered. 

His smile slowly disappeared. He looked toward the window. Mob liked to be near windows, but he wasn’t there either. He checked on top of the furnaces. Outside the front door. He even checked upstairs with hope that the cube was there. As he called his name like a lost pet. 

"...Mob?" he repeated, hands cupped around his mouth to project his voice louder. Yet, nothing answered. 

By the time he'd circled the cabin three times, the uneasy feeling in his stomach had become genuine panic. A cube like Mob couldn't have wandered that far....Right? His eyes drifted toward the path leading east. Then south.

"...Maybe...he teleported over to one of the villages?" With no better ideas and the process of elimination, Verity broke into a run. The southern village wasn't far.

When it finally came into view...He slowed. "...What?"

The village...was empty. Just like the eastern one. No villagers. No children. No Iron Golem. Nothing. Only abandoned houses. Open doors swaying gently in the breeze. Verity's pulse quickened as he walked through the now ghost village. 

Then—Crunch. He froze. Another crunch echoed from somewhere near the village square. Followed by the wet sound of something being torn apart. The smell reached him next. Coppery. Heavy. Fresh meat. Slowly...Verity stepped around the corner.

Something was crouched in the middle of the square. It wasn't a villager. And it wasn't like any mob he'd ever seen before.

It was impossibly tall. Long arms nearly brushed the ground as it crouched over its meal. Its body resembled an Enderman's, but much taller and leaner, every limb just a little too long. A massive crimson maw split its face open from ear to ear. Purple particles drifted lazily around it. A glowy green light coming forth from the center of its chest. 

But Its eyes—However, Bright emerald green. The color tugged at something in the back of Verity's mind. And when he realized why...His mind flashed to the little cube that had ridden on his shoulder these past few days. Emerald eyes. The same as Mob.

"...Mob...?" he whispered. The creature didn't answer. It kept eating.

Verity took an unconscious step forward. A dry stick snapped beneath his boot. Verity looked at the noise, heart stopping as the creature's head whipped toward him instantly. Verity instinctively looked up. Straight into its eyes.

"...Oh." His stomach dropped.

If this thing was anything like an Endermen, then every minecraft player knew one thing that Enderman hated most. Eye contact. And he'd just made the biggest mistake possible.

For the briefest moment...The creature simply stared. Its emerald eyes widened. Almost in recognition. Something that sounded like "...Ver..." coming from it distorted, static like voice. 

Verity's heart quickened, he couldn’t look away from the creatures—No Mobs eyes. They were hypnotizing, even as a large towering being. All survival instincts hopped out of body, as he reached a hand out. Mob’s name at the tip of his tongue. 

But the sweet moment he was imagining didn’t last for long. 

As the things entire body tensed. A low, guttural growl escaped the creature before rising into the furious screech of an enraged Enderman. The sound echoed across the abandoned village. Purple particles exploded around its body.

Shocked at the sudden behavior change, Verity froze. The only thing he did was exclaimed  "Mob, wait—!", but his shout fell on deaf ears. 

The creature launched itself forward. Closing the distance in an instant, crimson maw stretched impossibly wide as long claws came crashing toward him. Verity didn't move. He couldn't. His body refused to listen. So instead, he squeezed his eyes shut as everything went black.